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Thomas Jefferson Knight, the first child and first son of Solomon and Sarah Elizabeth Knight was born on June 27, 1827 in Paris, Bedford County, Tennessee.
Thomas and his family moved to Texas a short time after it became a Republic. In 1836, Thomas Jefferson was living in Upshur County, Texas. He was one of the earliest pioneer settlers of Upshur County. Thomas and his wife Martha Ann Sanders whom he married in 1848 in Shelby County, Texas had eleven children.
On March 1, 1862, in Gilmer, Texas, Thomas Jefferson answered the call to defend his country. Thomas enlisted in the Confederate Army as a Private in Company G, 17th Texas Cavalry (Moore's Regiment).His enlisting officer was Thomas J. Johnson. Thomas was 37 years old when he enlisted. Official documents show that the valuation of his horse was $175.00 and other equipment $30.00.
The 17th regiment took part in numerous battles including Arkansas Post, Missionary Ridge, Chickamauga and the battle of Lookout Mountain. The regiment was captured at Arkansas Post on January 11, 1863, and was, exchanged east of the Mississippi River in April and May of 1863.
The 17th Texas Cavalry was paroled at Greensboro, North Carolina on May 1, 1865. When Thomas was on his way home from the long war, he was in very poor physical condition. January 31,1892, Thomas Jefferson Knight died at his home in Enon, Upshur County, Texas. He is buried in the Grice Cemetery west of Gilmer.
The Epitaph on Thomas Jefferson Knight's headstone reads: "To forget is a vain endeavor, Remembrance last forever".
On September 6, 2014, Private Thomas Jefferson Knight was one of seventeen Confederate soldiers being honored with a Memorial at Grice Cemetery for their call to duty in defending their southland. I was truly honored and blessed to have taken part in the ceremony honoring our true Southern Heroes, especially my 5th Great-Grandfather Private Thomas Jefferson Knight.
Thomas Jefferson Knight endured all and gave all for the cause in which he believed in.
Prepared by
Matthew Roach
SCV Member of the Upshur Patriots Camp 2109
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